RAWlicious PLANT SUSHI

Dear all,

If you are wondering how to add more raw foods to your diet and cannot seem to warm up to some “odd” looking raw food dishes, try this delicious version of raw sushi. I am pretty sure you will have all ingredients in your fridge/ pantry and it will take you no longer than 30 minutes to prepare these delicious rolls (which, by the way, are actually called MAKI and not sushi).

THE key ingredient of these wonderful maki is the raw cauliflower spread that I use instead of rice.

Among the cruciferous vegetables (this family includes broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, collards, kale etc)CAULIFLOWER is something you might want to add to your regular diet because of its multiple healthbenefits. One of the best ways to eat CAULIFLOWER to maximize nutrients is to eat it raw. A raw cauliflower has a firm but spongy texture and a slightly bitter flavor with a sulfurous hint. Its color is white in most varieties but there are others that are green and purple. Interestingly, but fairly obvious, is the fact that white cauliflower is the least nutrient-dense of them all. The lack of color in this white flower vegetable is evidence of the lack of carotenoids or chlorophyll which are the common phytonutrients in most vegetables. Go for the colored variety if available.

There are a lot of pros and cons when it comes to the topic of cooking foods or eating them raw and heated debates which way is the healthier way. Honestly, I don’t know what to believe and would have to do a thorough research literature review to form a proper opinion. This is definitely something I would like to look into and I added on my TO DO list. In the meantime, we can´t go wrong choosing the path in the middle. And this is what happens inadvertently in our family anyway.

Some of our breakfasts are raw (overnight oats), morning snacks- usually raw (fruits, veggies with dip etc), weekday lunches are usually raw or partly raw (sandwiches, wraps…), afternoon snacks about half raw (smoothies, puddings, ice cream, raw balls etc), half cooked/ baked (brownies, muffins, cookies, bars…) and for dinner I usually cook something warm. In summertime, I tend to prepare way more raw food dinners. Plant- Based Dr Joel Fuhrman wrote a great summary about the pros and cons of cooking food on his website in case you are interested: http://www.diseaseproof.com/archives/healthy-food-the-cold-truth-about-raw-food-diets.html

I didn´t mean to bore you with too many dry facts and only added the links, but I wanted to provide you with at least a couple of interesting links so you can make up your own opinion on the topic cooked foods versus raw foods.

Discussion or not, I think everyone agrees that we should eat plenty of whole raw fruits and vegetables and that´s why I came up with my delicious maki recipe for today’s lunch.

Fill the maki with whatever vegetables you like best. Today, we used cucumber, red peppers, carrots, avocado and lettuce. Another delicious addition would be red cabbage or red beets.

I assemble all ingredients beforehand to speed up the process of preparing the spread, maki and dip.

Start out with the nori sheet, slather on some cauliflower spread, sprinkle sesame seeds it and top with the choice of your vegetables.

Roll up the nori sheet with the help of a bamboo mat and seal the nori with some water. Slice the rolls in smaller pieces and serve with either plain tamari (always the choice of our children) or a fancy dipping sauce (always my husband´s and my choice).

Too bad I couldn’t find any colored cauliflower, the maki would have looked even fancier with a purple cauliflower spread. Last but not least, here is the complete recipe for the maki: http://plantbasedhappy.com/?page_id=5541